4400: Pilot
| next = "The New and Improved Carl Morrissey" }} "Pilot" is the premiere episode of the television series The 4400. Directed by Yves Simoneau, it first aired on July 11th, 2004. The premise of the episode involves a group of 4,400 people who were abducted at various points in time by a strange, possibly extraterrestrial force and returned to Earth at the base of Mount Rainier in the year 2004. The returnees are quarantined for six weeks, but when they are released, they find that they have all developed fantastic superhuman abilities. The Department of Homeland Security teams NTAC agent Tom Baldwin with CDC field agent Diana Skouris to monitor the actions of the returnees who go on to become known as the 4400. Synopsis At different points in the past, people find themselves being abducted by a mysterious, inexplicable white light. In Crescent City, California on March 13th, 1946, young Maia Rutledge is taken while wandering in the woods. On May 11th, 1951, an African American US Army soldier stationed in South Korea named Richard Tyler finds himself the victim of violence by his own peers after they discover that he has been romantically involved with a white woman. He too disappears. In Tacoma, Washington, a middle-aged businessman named Orson Bailey leaves the office and disappears on June 11th, 1979. On April 22nd, 2001 two cousins named Shawn Farrell and Kyle Baldwin sit out at Highland Beach drinking beer. They see a bright light overhead and Shawn disappears. Kyle falls to the ground and slips into a coma. Three years later, in the present, Kyle's father Tom Baldwin sits and watches over him in his hospital room. While keeping his nightly vigil over Kyle, he watches a news broadcast, which talks about a strange comet traveling close towards the Earth. Tom's estranged wife, Linda enters the room to visit Kyle. Tom and she bicker over Kyle's wellbeing and Linda tells him that she cannot live by his bedside every moment of every day the way Tom does. Elsewhere, CDC analyst Diana Skouris receives a telephone call summoning her to the Seattle branch of the Department of Homeland Security. She meets Dennis Ryland who is in the midst of doling out emergency evacuation procedures for an upcoming threat. An agent named Sid Stradner tells Diana that their radar has spotted a comet on a direct course for Earth. Ryland fields a call informing him that China has just launched its missiles at the comet. Following suit, NORAD launches its Titan II missiles as well. The combined arsenal however has no affect and the comet continues on its course, altering its trajectory so that it is now heading directly towards Mount Rainier. Diana monitors the comet's progress on a computer and notes that it is slowing down, as if it were coming in for a landing. HomeSec teams and emergency crews converge on the spot at Mount Rainier and watch the skies as the comet comes closer. As it becomes more visible, spectators see that it is not a comet, but a hovering ball of blue energy. The ball of energy dwindles in size, then explodes, releasing a tremendous shockwave and a blinding flash of light. A blanket of fog rolls over the lake at the base of the mountain and as the spectators adjust their vision, they see 4,400 people emerge from the fog. They are dressed in attire from various time periods and all of them appear to be in a state of great disorientation. Some of the returnees include Maia Rutledge, Richard Tyler and Shawn Farrell. .]] Tom Baldwin goes to Dennis Ryland's office. A former Homeland Security field agent, Tom wants to be part of the operation responsible for researching the returnees. Ryland is irritated by Baldwin's sudden arrival and feels that he abandoned the department three years ago. Tom admits towards having a personal stake in joining back up and he feels that the return of his nephew Shawn might shed some light as to why his own son is in a coma. Ryland ultimately relents and decides to take Tom on. He introduces him to Diana Skouris and tells them that they will be working together with one another. All 4,400 returnees are placed into quarantine. NTAC agents conduct extensive interviews with each of them, recording all information that they gather. Tom and Diana pour over the video files and Diana determines that the earliest known person to be abducted is eight-year-old Maia Rutledge. Tom has his own returnee that he wants to interview - Shawn. Tom interviews Shawn and asks him if he remembers anything about what happened the night he disappeared. Shawn says that Kyle and he were by the lake drinking some beers and the next thing he remembers, he is standing at the base of a mountain next to a group of strangers. Tom tells Shawn that Kyle is in a coma and insinuates that Shawn slipped him something that messed him up. Shawn is enraged at the implication and storms after shouting "Screw you, Uncle Tommy!" Another returnee, Lily Moore, meets Richard Tyler in quarantine. Richard is shocked to see how much she resembles his former lover, Lily Bonham. As the two talk, they learn that Richard's girlfriend was Lily's grandmother. Lily tells him that she disappeared in 1993 and has a twelve-year-old daughter named Heidi. Orson Bailey addresses one of the administrators at the facility, demanding to know when they will be released. He is unpleased with the treatment of the returnees and Maia Rutledge hands him a tissue. After accepting it, Orson's nose begins to bleed. Six weeks later, NTAC is forced to let the 4400 go free. Ryland is unhappy about the situation and Diana is even more concerned about letting a potentially viable threat out into the open public. Tom has to remind her that these are living people and not a disease. Of the 4400, 79 of them stay within the city limits, while 135 of them, left with nowhere to go, elect to stay in quarantine. As the massive group of people meet loved ones at the exit, Lily searches around for her husband Brian, but finds no one to receive her. Lily goes to her old house. Her daughter Heidi answers the door, but doesn't recognize her. Her husband Brian walks out to greet her and Lily wonders why he never came to pick her up. Brian is uncomfortable and finally tells her that he has moved on with his life. He has re-married and Heidi doesn't know that his current wife, Carol, is not her real mother. Distraught, Lily leaves. Orson Bailey goes to a nursing home where he finds his wife Elizabeth. The woman is extremely old and senile, but she recognizes her husband and asks why he's been gone so long. Richard returns to his home town of St. Louis. He finds that the building he used to live in has been torn down and in its place is a bridge. A group of homeless people have taken up residence under the bridge. Back in Washington, the Farrell family hold a party celebrating Shawn's return. Tom brings Diana and they have an uncomfortable encounter with Linda Baldwin. Diana sees that their marriage is quickly crumbling. Tom goes outside to get some air and finds Shawn. He apologizes for the way he treated him, but Shawn is still adjusting to being back with his family. As they talk, a bird flies near them and crashes into a window pane. Shawn picks it up and notices that it's neck is broken. A moment later, the bird springs to life and flies away. Tom and Shawn dismiss the matter, feeling that the bird was merely stunned. Orson Bailey goes to the offices of Kensington & Bailey, his old life insurance firm. He speaks with the current CEO, Adam Kensington and tries to get his old job back. Adam tells him that the company is in a slump and there simply isn't enough money in the budget to take on another partner. Bailey is furious, claiming that he is still a partner in the firm and has a legal right to resume his old position. Kensington counters with the fact that Orson was declared dead back in 1986 and that there is no precedence for anyone returning to the present in such an unorthodox fashion. Bailey begins to tremble and as his anger grows, he crushes a water glass. new family.]] Meanwhile, Maia is removed from quarantine and goes to live with an adoptive family, Kenneth and Patty Griffin. They invite her into their home and show her to her new bedroom. Maia removes her shoes and places them on a chair, but Kenneth goes over the house rules and tells her that shoes do not belong on furniture. Maia politely obeys, but after they leave, she places her shoes back on the chair. That evening as she sleeps, a connector hose on the washing machine disconnects, flooding the entire area with water. The water seeps into Maia's room, but her shoes stay dry on the chair. Richard Tyler goes into a diner feeling more alone than ever. He is truly a stranger in a strange world. He lights a cigarette until he notices a teenage patron pointing to the No Smoking sign. Richard douses his cigarette into his coffee cup. Shawn Farrell walks outside his house to collect his thoughts. He sees that somebody has spray-painted the word "Freak" onto his car. Orson Bailey goes to Adam Kensington's home at Madison Park demanding to see him. He stands outside the front gates shouting his name. Adam sees Orson through his security cameras and summons his maid Anita. He refuses to answer Orson's call. Bailey grows increasingly agitated and the gates begin shaking violently of their own accord. As his anger intensifies, he begins displaying telekinetic abilities. All the glass within Adam's house explodes into shards. A violent telekinetic burst of energy shatters Adam Kensington's skull and he falls backward, impaling himself on the exposed leg of a coffee table. Orson's nose begins to bleed again. The following day, Shawn Farrell returns to life as a student at Seacrest Senior High School. A fellow student named Brad Rossi accosts him, blaming Shawn for him getting arrested after Shawn had sold him some stolen Foo Fighters tickets. The two nearly come to blows, but Danny interrupts the fight and the two go their separate ways. NTAC learns about the death of Adam Kensington and Orson Bailey is brought in for questioning. Tom tries to negotiate the process with diplomacy, but Diana doesn't have Tom's training and hammers Orson with some really tough questions. Orson grows frustrated and his powers cause a coffee plot to explode. He demands to either be arrested or let go. Since the video surveillance footage from the Kensington estate clearly shows that Orson never made it onto the grounds, Tom and Diana are left with no alternative but to let him go. As he leaves, his nose begins to bleed again. Kenny and Patty Griffin take Maia to the cemetery so she can visit the graves of her parents. With her precognitive abilities, Maia tells them that they will buried at Crown Ridge Cemetery, which she assures them is very nice. Kenny and Patty don't know how to react to such a bizarre statement. When they return home, Kenneth finds a brochure from Crown Ridge Cemetery. This upsets both of them greatly and they decide that they are not equipped to deal with someone with Maia's abilities. Maia knows what is to come and her bags are already packed when Kenneth and Patty come to tell her the news. They bring her back to the NTAC center. Tom and Diana speak with a coroner to discuss Adam Kensington's autopsy. She shows them x-rays of Adam's head and notes how the parietal bones had been completely shattered. There is no explanation for the phenomena, but she determines that it wasn't the fall that killed him. Tom and Diana are perplexed. Meanwhile, Lily Moore begins feeling ill and goes to see a doctor. The doctor tells her that her symptoms are completely normal - for someone who is pregnant. Lily is shocked to hear the news as it is impossible for her to be pregnant, having been away for eleven years. She later arranges to have dinner with Brian. She tells him about the pregnancy, but Brian doesn't want anything to do with her. He doesn't want her attempting any further contact with Heidi and is armed with a temporary restraining order to prevent just such a thing from occurring. Orson Bailey goes to the nursing home where his wife is staying, but as he arrives at her room bearing flowers, he is greeted with the devastating news that his wife has died of a pulmonary embolism. Orson is overwhelmed with grief. His unstable abilities kick into overdrive and things begin exploding all about the building. Machines blow up, sending arcs of electricity all around the place. Staff members scramble to get out of the way until the chaos finally dies down. When news of the incident reaches NTAC, Tom and Diana go down to investigate. When they arrive, they find the nursing home corridors in shambles, but there is no sign of Orson Bailey. life is draining away.]] At Seacrest High School, Brad Rossi continues to antagonize Shawn and repeatedly calls him a "Freak". Shawn was willing to endure Brad's taunts up to a point, but he now decides that he has had enough. The two boys begin fist-fighting and their battle carries out into the quad. Shawn gets on top of Brad and as he touches his face, he inadvertently begins draining away his life energy. He recoils after seeing what he is doing and his brother looks at him with awe and just a twinge of horror. As Tom and Diana continue to look into the Orson Bailey case, they come upon a photograph of a younger Orson with his wife taken during the 1940s. The photograph was taken at the Wyler Summer cabin, several miles away in the mountains. The summer house was owned by Elizabeth's family. They figure that this might be a place where Bailey would seek sanctuary and leave to track him down. As they walk out of the NTAC offices, a process server stops Tom and hands him an envelope. The envelope contains papers from Linda who is now filing for a divorce. Richard Tyler returns to Seattle and goes to the park. Having unsuccessfully tried to reconnect with his roots, he has nowhere else to turn. While there, he has a serendipitous encounter with Lily Moore. The two go to dinner together and talk about Lily's grandmother. Tom and Diana go the Wyler cabin. Tom draws his gun and knocks on the front door while Diana tries to sneak around the back. They know that Orson is inside and the distraught man tries to get them to leave. The entire house begins to shake violently and the ground beneath their feet trembles. Blood pours out of Tom's nose as the pressure intensifies and Diana's ears begin to bleed as well. Orson loses total control over his abilities and they are forced to break down the door. Tom shoots Orson in the shoulder. Once he's down they take him back to Seattle. Once everything settles down, Dennis Ryland calls them both into his office. With the amazing discovery that the returnees are developing unpredictable super-powers, the entire dynamic of NTAC's role in their lives has changed. He tells Tom and Diana that their new objective is to study the 4400 and learn as much as they can about their powers. That evening, Shawn returns home and finds Danny and Nikki looking at a computer website called The 4400 Scoop.com. Danny is uncomfortable around his sibling and Shawn realizes that they both believe him to be a freak as well. Shawn leaves and goes to the hospital to visit his comatose cousin Kyle. Shawn is beginning to understand that he has some level of control over the powers of life and death. He places his hand upon Kyle and uses his power to awaken him from his coma. Cast Principal Cast Guest Stars Crew * Ira Steven Behr - Executive producer * Maira Suro - Executive producer * René Echevarria - Executive producer * Scott Peters - Co-executive producer * Brent Karl Clackson - Producer * Yves Simoneau - Producer * Tracy Hillman - Associate producer * William Redner - Consulting producer * Thomas Burstyn - Director of photography * Stephen Geaghan - Production designer Notes & Trivia * This episode has been made available on The 4400: The Complete Series and The 4400: The Complete First Season DVD collections. * Actors Joel Gretsch, Chad Faust and Michael Moriarty have also appeared in Taken, a television mini-series that likewise dealt with alien abduction. * Other returnees include Julius, Anita and Amanda. * The Foo Fighters are an alternative rock and roll musical group formed in Seattle, Washington in 1995. Their songs have been featured in episodes of The X-Files. * Even after the quarantine is lifted, 65% of the 4400 elect to remain in Seattle. * The word cemetery is mis-spelled cemetary on the Crown Ridge Cemetery brochure. * As of the pilot episode, only three returnees demonstrate exceptional abilities: :* Orson Bailey - Telekinesis :* Maia Rutledge - Precognition :* Shawn Farrell - Healing touch / Death touch Music References * 1940s * 1950s * 1970s * 2000s * 4400 * Alien abduction * Center for Disease Control * Comets * Death touch * Department of Homeland Security * Flashbacks * Healing touch * NORAD * Precognition * Quarantine * Returnees * Telekinesis * Time travel See also External Links * * * * "Pilot" at Wikipedia * * * * ---- Category:2004/Episodes Category:July, 2004/Episodes Category:Verified